Girl Scouts Learn How to “Be Prepared” for a Career in Trucking

The group, Women in Trucking, develops a program that familiarizes girls and young women with a career option they may not have considered…becoming a truck driver.

I was delighted when I first heard about an event being jointly planned by two organizations that are near and dear to me. On October 13, the organization, Women in Trucking, and the Girl Scouts of the Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana region, will team up to hold an event “Trucks are for Girls!,” at Olive Harvey College in Chicago. This event will give girls the opportunity to learn about the trucking industry, and Scouts who attend will receive a custom Women in Trucking patch. Many regional Girl Scout Councils offer special patches to supplement the national badge programs.

The Boy Scouts already offer their members a chance to earn Truck Transportation and Traffic Safety merit badges, so this is a natural next step. And it’s certainly relevant to our industry. I’ve been posting a number of blogs and articles over the last couple of years talking about the drastic shortage of diesel mechanics and truck drivers at a time when the demand for both is growing. And since almost half of the workforce in America is female, it’s an incredible untapped resource for our industry. This Girl Scout event is a great first step in making more girls aware, at a young age, of the possibilities that exist.

At the “Trucks are for Girls!” event, girls from ages of 7 to 12 will be able to drive a simulator, climb inside an actual “big rig,” and learn more about the trucking industry. Volunteers from Olive Harvey College, Women in Trucking, and others will assist at the event. According to Olive Harvey Associate Dean, Joanne Ivory, “There are so many excellent opportunities for women in the industry. We hope that the transportation patch will help foster early interest that could evolve into a future career in distribution, logistics, commercial driving, or other rewarding occupations.”

To that, I say “you go, girls.”

Read more about women in the trucking industry in our interviews with women trucking executives.

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About Jane Clark

Jane Clark is Vice President of Member Services for NationaLease. Before joining the full service truck leasing organization, she served in executive positions with some of the nation’s top staffing and recruitment agencies.